Ferrer repeats as champion in Auckland

AUCKLAND, New Zealand, Jan. 14 (UPI) -- No. 1-seeded David Ferrer completed defense of his Heineken Open championship with a straight-set win Saturday over Olivier Rochus in New Zealand.

Ferrer, who had to win a pair of matches Friday to get to the final, showed little signs of fatigue in beating Rochus 6-3, 6-4. He is 6-2 lifetime versus Rochus.

Rain Thursday pushed Ferrer's quarterfinal match to Friday. He took that match and a semifinal against third-seeded Fernando Verdasco in earning a spot in the finals.

Ferrer was good on just 46 percent of his first serves but won 81 percent of the points when he was and took nearly two-thirds of the points on serve overall. He lost his serve once but finished off three of his four break-point chances in taking the title.

It was the 12th tournament championship for Ferrer, who picked up $71,900 for the title. Saturday's win was his third overall in Auckland. He also won the event in 2006.

Rochus dropped to 2-8 in championship matches. His most recent title came in 2006 in Munich, Germany. The runner-up finish this week was worth $37,860.